Is It the Teacher or Is It Memorex? Responding to Student Essays Using Audio Cassettes.

Carney, Paul

An informal study attempted to determine if audio-taped comments on student papers in freshman composition were as efficient and effective as those actually written on student papers. An instructor began the experiment in the third week of the semester--after he had already returned one batch of papers with written comments on them. Students supplied the audio cassette and numbered the sentences of their paper for easy reference; the instructor used a voice-activated machine to avoid the hassle of pushing "record" and "stop." Assessment surveys showed that 96 of the 110 students involved in the study preferred the cassette to the pen. Excerpts from written student comments show enthusiastic endorsement of the cassette grading method. In comparing his written comments to his recorded one, the instructor notes that he is more likely to "talk" to the student on tape as opposed to "grading" or "correcting" with a pen. Second, complimentary comments are more prevalent on tape. Third, the instructor paid more attention to global comments on the paper and less attention to grammar penalties. Fourth, the cassette alerted him to counter-productive tendencies inherent in written comments; cassette grading has tamed his predatory impulse with the pen. Finally, the instructor found cassette comments more efficient time-wise. The student assessment of audio evaluation instrument is attached. (TB)